Tension device.



L. T. HOUGHTON.

TENSION DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED OCT-22,1915.

1 9 1". m 1 Patented June 20, 1916.

lab

TENSION DEVICE.

meters.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, LEWIS T. HOUGHTON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Worcester, in the county of. Worcester and State of Massachusetts, have invented a new .and useful Tension Device, of which the following is a specification. I

This invention relates to a tension device which is capable of general use. Although it is particularly adapted for use on spooling and other yarn and thread winding machines and is particularly described with reference thereto, yet it is to be understood that it is capable of use anywhere where material is to be wound with a tension.

The principal object of the invention is to provide a simple and inexpensive arrangement by which the yarn can be both threaded and its tension adjusted quickly and accurately so that the same device can be used for yarn or thread of varying qualities and sizes, and also to provide a construction for this purpose which will be practical and efficient.

The invention also involves improvements in details of construction and means whereby the usual scoring or cutting of the ordinary supporting rod of a spooling machine will be avoided.

Reference is to be had to ing drawings in which- Figure 1 is a front elevation of a spooling machine of ordinary type showing a preferred embodiment of this invention applied thereto, and illustrating two positions of the parts to show how the adjustment can be made in accordance with this construction; Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same; Fig. 3 is a sectional view on the line 33 of Fig. 1; Fig. 4 is a front elevation showing another embodiment of the invention; Fig. 5 is a similar View showing another form; Fig. 6 is a sectional view of the same on the line 6-6 of Fig. 5, and Figs. 7 and 8 are respectively an edge and side view of another modification.

In the textile industry there are many operations which in order to be carried out with the greatest success necessitate that the yarn or thread shall be run with a certain tension. Heretofore so far as I am aware this tension has been made to depend on the number of turns or loops given the yarn or on the form of the bearing or on the amount of compression. Adjustment of the tension has been secured by reducing or the accompany- Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 2%, JWllfi.

' Application filed October 22, 1915. Serial No. 57,350.

increasing the number changing the shape of degree of pressure on the thread. It has been necessary also to thread the yarn through or over the tension devices. This has rendered it unhandy, cumbersome, and expenslve tovary the tension and in threadmg the operator has been liable to get either too little or too much tension and it was impossible for him to vary the tension in a minute manner. Mistakes on the part of the operatorin putting in 'a new thread or replacing it when broken were also frequent.

The above mentioned difficulties are all avoided by the use of this invention for the threading is the same for all degree of ten- 510D and is independent of the size or quality of the yarn. Therefore, the operator always threads the yarn in the same way and mistakes, therefore, are reduced. Furthermore, the tension can be adjusted to any desired degree of nicety and the adjustment can be made almost instantaneously.

According to this invention the tension is obtained by simply closing or opening the spaces between the bearing points of the thread on the tension members which it engages. There are many ways in which the thread can be wrapped around its support for the purpose of getting the tension. The adjustment is secured, broadly stated, by varying the direction of the diagonal line made by the thread with respect to the support or the surface over, which it travels. The greater the angle made by it the less the tension and it can be varied, without dismounting the device or otherwise manipulatng it except to perform the usual adjusting operation, so as to get a condition in which there is no tension when adjusted to one extreme and a condition in which there is a maximum tension when adjusted to the other extreme. Tt can be adjusted in this direction up to the breaking point. Furthermore in certain preferred forms of this tension device by bringing the ends of the thread toward each other at the points where it begins to wind around the support and where it ceases to wind on it the tension can be adjusted as specified, because the nearer the thread passes around a cylinder in a direction at right angles to the length of the cylinder the greater will be the ten sion.

T am aware of the fact that there are many difl'erent ways in which the thread can be of loops or turns,

the hearing or the.

strung on its support and connected with it so that tension will develop, and consequently this invention in its broadest aspect ment secured 'aecordingto the above principles, and it will be seen that the shape and style of the fixture can be changed within wide limits to adapt it to the conditions which it is to fulfill and the position where it is to be applied.

Referring more specifically to Figs. 1, 2 and 3, it will be seen that the invention is shown as applied to a spooling machine having the usual longitudinal rod 10 over which the thread or yarn is designed to pass from the bobbins 11 to the spools. Instead, however, of allowing the thread or yarn to pass directly over the surface of this rod, thereby scoring and roughening it, the rod is protected by a sheet metal clip 14. The

- protection of the rod by this clip is not its principal function, as it is placed on the rod mainly for the purpose of supporting the parts to be described, but in addition to its main function it is used for this purpose also. The clip is provided with flanges 15 at its ends to prevent the thread from being dislodged from it and after it is formed in shape it is hardened so that it will not wear to the same extent as the rod. The clip is also provided with parallel ends 17 through which passes the end of a tension rod or support 18. A nut 19 is provided to hold the clip in its desired position on the main rod. This support 18 is provided with a pig-tail 20 or other guiding means at its end and the thread or yarn A is guided through this eye and over the clip 14 from the bobbin to the spool. For the purpose of securing the tension the yarn is wound a part of a turn or more around this red. In order to provide for varying the tension so that the same construction can be used for difierent kinds of yarn under different conditions, an adjusting device is provided. In the form shown in these figures, this comprises an adjusting rod 21 having a bent end 22 for engaging the yarn and controlling the .position on the rod 18 at which the yarn leaves it. This is shown as being secured in position by providing one of the flanges 17 with an extension 23 having upper and lower flanges 24 that are perforated to permit the passage of this rod. Through this shelf 23 passes the shank 25 of a screw eye which has a passage through it for engaging the shank of the rod 21. This screw eye is clamped in position so as to securely hold the rod 21 in any adjusted position.

The main way in which the adustmcnt of the tension is secured is by moving the rod 21 longitudinally with respect to the tension rod 18 so as to change the distance apart of the points at which the yarn engages the surface of the tension rod. In other words, the pitch of the helix which the thread or yarn forms on the tension rod is made more or less acute so that the thread in passing around the rod while it is being fed along the same will grip the rod either more or less firmly. It will be seen from the two positions shown in Fig. 1 that this variation can be controlled within very wide limits and accurate adjustment secured. It will be obvious that by moving the rod 21 in the manner stated the distance from the point at which the thread engages the rod at one end of the coil and that at which it leaves it at the other end is adjusted for the purpose of securing this variation of tension, but that in this form of the invention the wrap of the yarn around the rod is not adjusted. In the form shown in Fig. 4 the same conditions prevail, except that the rod 21 is passed through a perforation in the rod 10 and is secured by a set screw 27.

In the form shown in Figs. 5 and 6 the clip 14* is the same as that shown in Fig. 4, and the adjusting means is mounted directly on the tension rod 18. In this case the adjusting means consists of a hook 28 of wire having a bent end 29 extending into a collar 30 which is secured in any desired adjusted position on the rod 18 by a set screw 31. In this case the collar can be turned about the rod as well as moved longitudinally,

and consequently a variation in the amount of wrap of the yarn around the rod is secured, and thus adjustment can be made in that manner in addition to the adjustment which can be secured by moving it longitudinally.

In the form shown in Figs. 7 and 8 the same broad principle is employed but in a very different manner. Instead of adjusting the bearing points longitudinally or axially as in Figs. 1 to at they are adjusted circumferentially, more as explained in connection with the description of Figs. 5 and 6. The threads passes through two hooks 33 and 34, one of which 33 is fixed on a stationary plate or frame 35. The other 34 is adjustable toward and from the hook 33 along a slot 36, being secured in adjusted positions by a nut. The thread also passes over or around a cylindrical su )port 37 which also is adjustable along the slot and is secured in the same way. Either or both of these adjustments can be made. Thus in this way the distance between the bearing lpoints of the thread on the support is adjusted and the direction of the diagonal line 1,187,912 van;

made by the thread with respect to the support 37 is varied to adjust the tension. In.

this case however the change in the axial length of the coil on the support cannot be made, as in the other forms shown.

It will be seen that in all the forms shown an arrangement is provided which can be made in camparatively simple manner by ordinary methods and without undue ex pense; that the adjustment is capable of being made in a most simple manner; that it is entirely adequate for all purposes; and that the same device can be used on different kinds of machines and for different kinds of yarn or thread without manufacturing a separate size or kind for use under different conditions. 1

Although I have illustrated and described only a few forms of the invention I am aware of the fact that many other modifications can be made therein by any person skilled in the art and that it can beapplied generally in the textile art without departing from the scope of the invention as expressed in the claims. Therefore,- I do not wish to be limited to the details of construction herein shown and described, nor to the para smooth surfaced rod located substantially in alinement with the direction of a yarn to be tensioned, said yarn being coiled on the rod, and a transverse adjusting rod movable along the first na-med rod for'varying the point therealong at which the yarn engages the surface thereof.

2. In a tension device, the combination of a longitudinal rod, a metallic clip secured thereto, a transverse thread guide rod carried by the clip and having a pig tail at its end,'and an adjusting rod carried by the clip and located substantially parallel with said transverse rod and having abent end projecting toward the same for engaging the thread, said adjusting rod being adjustable longitudinally to vary the tension of the thread. 7 1

' 3. In a tension device, the combination of a longitudinal rod, a metallic clip secured thereto, a transverse thread guide rod carried by the clip, and an adjusting rod located substantially parallel with said transverse rod and having a bent end projecting toward the same for engaging the thread, said adjusting rod being adjustable longitudinally to vary the tension of the thread.

4:. In a tension device, the combination of a rod over the surface of which the thread to be tension'ed is guided in substantially a helical manner, and means for changing the pitch of said thread on the surface of the rod to vary the tension, said means comprising a stationary pig-tail at one end of the rod and a guide adjustable toward and from the pig-tail and'controlling the position at which the thread engages the surface of the rod at the other end of the helix.

5. In a tension device, the combination of a main rod, a cli surrounding said rod and secured to it, sai clip having a guiding surface for the thread or yarn to protect the rod therefrom, and a support connected with said clip located in position for guiding the thread over the surface of the clip.

6. In a tension device, the combination of a main rod, a metallic clip surrounding said rod and secured to it, said'clip having a guiding surface for the thread or yarn to protect the rod therefrom, a tension rod supported by said clip, means for guiding the thread around the tension rod in a substantially helical manner, andmeans for shortening and lengthening the helix or coil of thread on the rod while maintaining the number of turns.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set "LEWIS T. HOUGH'ION.

my hand. 

